Legal Question in Family Law in Tennessee

Dad in the dark - custody

Hi, I'm a married stay-at-home dad with 3 children living in TN. One child, 15, has been in the custody of the mother since our divorce.

Earlier this year I heard my daughter had some truancy issues at school and after investigating I found--name removed--they had an upcoming court date. The ex and my daughter had been keeping this and other court dates from me for fear that I would attempt to get custody. The judge gave the ex a warning.

Recently I found--name removed--my daughter has been truant again. I learned that the ex has been abusing drugs, lost her home, my child is in temporary custody of the ex's mother, my ex is banned from being around the kids!

I suppose my question is, can they do this? Can they just put my daughter in the custody of her grandmother without consulting with me first? Can I go pick her up and just keep her since I am her father? Enroll her in school here? Do courts frown on home-schooling? stay-at-home dads? Even if she doesn't want to come because she knows she will have to abide by rules, and leave friends can I still make her come here?


Asked on 10/08/06, 8:10 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jes Beard Jes Beard, Attorney at Law

Re: Dad in the dark - custody

No, Juvenile Court should not have done ANYTHING regarding your daughter without notifying you, but apparently it has. What you need to do now is go to Juvenile Court, make clear that you are informed of anything in the future, and possibly also have the court undo what it has recently done without your knowledge, specifically placing the child to a grandmother. If you act quickly you should be able to get her placed in your home. While you can always represent yourself in court, you can also try to perform your own root canal, but doing either is pretty foolish. If you want to discuss anything further, take a look at my website and then give me a call.

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Answered on 10/11/06, 12:38 pm


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